On Friday, 2 June, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) presented the Latvian national image strategy missionLatvia, which aims to achieve a unified positioning of Latvia and create an attractive national image to attract foreign investments.
missionLatvia, or a country with a mission, is Latvia’s international positioning, through which global associations will be formed, as a country recognising the need for change and acting in the name of a common goal. The missionLatvia strategy also envisions a unified approach to tell the world about Latvia, using unified communication materials. Furthermore, the strategic goal of the national image is to advocate for the values of nature and sustainability, echoing and promoting the development of innovations on a Latvian scale.
“Latvia has enormous potential to develop its economy and become stronger, more prosperous and safer. Technologies are evolving and changing our daily lives. Being in the digital environment allows different generations to advance their careers, improve their skills and talents and learn new things. Each of us has unique skills and ideas for generating innovation and new jobs. Because together we create a prosperous and innovative society, together we create a thriving economy, together we take care of our country with a sense of mission for Latvia, and together we create an image of Latvia for the world,” says the Minister of Economics Ilze Indriksone.
It is expected that the national image will increase the amount of attracted investments to 2.45 billion euro over the next three years. The positioning of missionLatvia is expected to increase the annual average amount of taxes paid by 150 million euro, promote exports by 300 million and increase investment in research and development by an average of 35 million per year.
“Discussions about the positioning of Latvia, which would contribute to the growth of exports and investments, have always been very heated. Currently, we have defined the values of the country's image and created a new framework missionLatvia to tell a unified message about Latvia as a country that has not only beautiful nature, a good gastronomic offer, and rich cultural life but also a rapidly growing economy based on innovation,” emphasises Kaspars Rožkalns, director general at the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia.
To successfully develop the missionLatvia strategy, a study was conducted in ten target countries, which revealed that Latvia’s average level of recognition in Europe is 50%, with the highest level of recognition in Finland at 67% and Sweden at 59%, while in the United States it is slightly lower at 31% and in Asian countries – 20%. These results conclude that, in general, Latvia has a high level of recognition, with a tendency for higher levels of recognition as you get closer to Latvia. This study also ascertained foreign knowledge about Latvia, primarily related to location and history, as well as the desire to visit Latvia. Since Latvia is rarely associated with sustainability and innovation, this was chosen as the focus of missionLatvia communication.
Image “missionLatvia: A country with a mission” was created based on Latvian national characteristics, with the fact that Latvians have always had a sense of mission, creativity and enormous work abilities, proving themselves to the world as talented, innovative and tireless people. The mission approach is based on the knowledge that change can begin with one person, idea, or initiative, but it is only possible when people work together to solve problems. missionLatvia tells the story of Latvian values and what they can give to the world. It is the story of every citizen willing to help bring Latvia’s name to the world by addressing important challenges for Latvian society and making a contribution on a European scale.
Latvia will be the first country in the world to use the Mission approach to coordinate activities and create connections to achieve results. Currently, the main identified missions are Mission Sea 2030, which aims to reduce Baltic Sea pollution through innovation, and the DNS mission, which aims to preserve and digitise Latvia’s cultural heritage, supplementing it with technologies and innovations, allowing events and traditions to live longer and beyond their physical location.
So far, not only has the missionLatvia strategy and design identity been developed, but the platform and public resource base www.latvia.eu has also been created, which collects stories of experiences and information that will aid in the international promotion of Latvia.
